Chapter 2

Worldly Ties

The next day I met Kate at the mall, which she said was close to the place she tracked the guy to. Naturally, I looked in GameStop while I was waiting. I thought about buying the 1.5 Remix, but it just seemed a waste to buy it if I already owned the individual games. I'm like that sometimes. I saw Kate somewhere near the food court, so I called her over.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

I followed her lead as we biked towards an abandoned building. It was pretty out of the way, so it passed the usual onlookers sight.

"You sure this is it?" I asked, unsure.

"Positive, but how do we know they're here?" she sighed.

"Knock?" I suggested.

She knocked on the door, but we didn't get a response. She twists the knob, but to no success.

"What do we do now?" Kate asked.

"Do you really have to ask?" I said.

I pointed my Keyblade at the lock and focused. A beam of light shot out of my Keyblade and into the lock.

"And now, we enter," I said.

For a secret conspiracy base, it was pretty much the same as an abandoned warehouse. I looked around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But still… I got this feeling when I entered. It put me… On edge.

"Kate, look out!" I yelled.

She looked around in response, and moved away from the man who was about to grab her. I got between her and the man, and scowled at him.

"Why are you here?" the man said in a clear voice. He had a relatively kept beard, cut short, and hair in a ponytail. His eyes were a solid dark color.

"We came for answers," I responded with what I hope was an imposing tone.

"About what, might I ask?" He inquired, interest beginning to sink into his expression.

"About this," I said, summoning my Keyblade.

His response was delayed by utter shock, but he obviously knew beforehand what was going on, because he wasn't very panicky. He composed himself and whistled three long notes.

Five other people came out of hiding, skeptical in expression. They soon saw what the first man saw, because they all became speechless.

The man cleared his throat. "I truly am sorry for my sudden appearance, but we don't usually get visitors,"

"I can see why," I whispered to Kate.

The man continued. "My name is Tobias. We have been expecting you for some time now, and we are glad you are here,"

"And who is we?" I asked.

"The Guardians of the Worlds. We are this world's branch of the order, of course, and we have dedicated our lives to keeping order between the worlds,"

"When was the order established?" I asked, puzzled.

"Shortly after the incidents surrounding the Xehanort epidemic, we realized the worlds can't be separated completely forever. The order was established to prevent problems hinting to the existence of other worlds from happening, or stopping them as fast as possible,"

Rage built up inside me "Then why did I have to stop the Heartless and the Organization on my own? My friend is in danger because of you!" I yelled.

"We were attempting to resolve the Heartless outbreak to the best of our abilities, but the problem was too widespread by the time we could formulate a plan. As for the Organization, the order is tying our hands on this one, due to the enormity of the threat they pose,"

"But… Why didn't you stop the Organization beforehand? This Organization has been in effect for a couple of years as far as I can tell,"

"We knew about them, but until now they were nothing more than a group of Nobodies that destroyed Heartless and gave shelter to its members,"

"Whatever. What I need to know now is if you can get me off this world and into The World That Never Was,"

"Why?"

"Because one of my friends is being held there and they plan to execute him," I said, desperate

"Hmm… We can get you in touch with General Adams, but it will be substantially harder to warp you to their base. It might not even be possible," he explained.

"Who… It doesn't matter. All I need is a way to their base, and a way out," I persisted.

"…Maybe, but it's risky and stupid,"

One of the other people spoke up. "No, you can't be serious! We wait our whole life for this, and now we're going to put him in that kind of danger? What about the prophecy?"

"I know John! But it's not our place,"

"What do you mean?! We have been sworn to protect the worlds, and you're throwing away our best chance of keeping the worlds safe and unaware?"

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" I shouted, exasperated.

Tobias shifted uncomfortably. "You don't know, do you?"

I shook my head.

"Well then, let me tell you. Long before any of us existed, sometime after the worlds separated, a prophecy was foretold. Found in the ancient scriptures of the Destiny Tomes, this prophecy depicted the end of all Keyblades,"

"What!?"

"Yes, it is daunting at first. The order has studied over the encrypted pages of this prophecy, but we can't get that many details. What we do know is that the Infinity Keyblade will be the last Keyblade in existence. It also describes dark times, and from what we can gather, a lot of blood will be shed. If we can't stop this, the world order might be destroyed utterly. Worlds would be in complete chaos. For all we know, it might even be the apocalypse,"

I summoned my Keyblade and stared at it in fascination. I then looked to the ground, thinking deeply.

"I understand what you're saying, but this prophecy can wait. I'm not giving up on my friends," I declared.

Tobias smiled. "You have a raging spirit, young Keyblade wielder. It is true, this prophecy will probably not occur soon, but it will happen. We cannot change the river's destination, only the path it takes. No matter what you choose, ultimately, it will be the right decision,"

"So can you get me to the Organization stronghold?" I asked.

"We could certainly try, but The World That Never Was is a strange place, covered in the folds of darkness. There is a portal leading there, but over time it became unstable. You can try to use it, but I have to warn you of the risk,"

"Where is the portal?" I asked, determined.

"It's at headquarters, on Traverse Town,"

"Wait, so why is your HQ on Traverse Town?"

Tobias was about to answer, but the man named John interjected. "It's a matter of convenience. Because people whose world has become unavailable either because it fell into darkness, or because they were Nobodies and they returned to human form. We can thus easily relocate these people. It's also a matter of neutrality. Traverse Town exists in the Realm of In Between, rather than the Light or Dark Realm. In this way it's easier to perceive the balance of light and darkness," John explained.

"How do I get to Traverse Town?" I ask.

Tobias smiled. "Take the portal there,"

"So HQ connects all the worlds?"

"Just the accessible ones,"

I studied the crowd. Each one of them was sizing me up. I guess they didn't believe a 14 year old could destroy the Queen.

John spoke up. "Pardon me sir, but don't you think one of the order should assist him, as to make sure nothing bad happens?" he questioned.

Tobias thought about it. "It seems necessary, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we have a journey to prepare for,"

I nodded. "Where's the portal?"

Tobias pressed a button on his watch, and a stairway was revealed. He led me down, where I found a machine. It looked like a platform with a thin metal arch circling over it. Tobias pressed a couple keys on a computer attached to the device. The space around the arch started glowing and swirling. It reminded me of one of those things you use to blow bubbles. I looked at Tobias, who nodded. He then walked up to John and muttered something. John saluted in response.

Tobias handed me a hand-written note. The seal stamped at the end was unique and would be hard for others to copy.

"This is a letter that will approve your use of the portal. John will assist you to ensure things go smoothly. John knows who to talk to, just follow his lead," he explained.

I breathed deeply and turned to Kate. "You should stay on Earth,"

She shook her head. "No way, I'm not going to let you go alone,"

I grabbed her shoulder. "After what happened with Xerin and Forix… I was scared you would die. You're safer here," I insisted.

She looked like she was going to argue some more, but she relented. I faced the portal, John standing next to me. I slowly took a step, and walked through the portal.

Meanwhile…

"Chaxis, you are my closest confidant of late. Tensions have grown higher between the members. Some question the exact reason why Xerin, Forix, and Daxjra are no longer in our ranks. We need to regain their trust,"

"How exactly do you plan to do this?"

"Daxjra is the dark to Jason's light. Their keys resonate in synch, one complementing the other. Executing Daxjra will spread chaos in our midst, so instead, let's save him from the brink of death? The other members do not have to know what really happened, and Lagaulixa is too complacent to preach the truth,"

"But sir, it seems Daxjra is the wild card here. What happens if he decides to betray us? And doesn't he already know the truth?"

"It's true, he has gleaned our plans, but that too is not of our concern. I will make sure Daxjra cannot betray us,"

"Where do I come in, sir?"

"You have a very important mission, and if it fails, everything we have built will fall apart,"

"Understood,"

What are the superior's designs? Will Jason be able to reach Daxjra in time? Find out in Chapter 3, Change of Plans.